Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer at the Windows 8 launch in New York last October.
Microsoft

There are plenty of critics of Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer out there. Some think Ballmer's been too slow to react to market changes. Others think he's been too slow to get rid of problem employees. And then there are some who were the problem employees themselves...

(If you're curious about the "secret power broker" part of the title -- or about Kempin's role in Microsoft's Department of Justice troubles -- I'd point you to an article I wrote about him in 1998, entitled "Who is Microsoft's Secret Power Broker.")

Kempin propelled the OEM division at Microsoft to become quite profitable. From my Kempin story:

In fiscal 1997, ended June 30, Microsoft's OEM group contributed $3.48 billion, or nearly one-third of the company's total net revenues of $11.36 billion. Even though Microsoft's financial gurus have warned Wall Street for years that the operating system market, at least for desktops, is close to tapped-out, the OEM division managed to grow its revenue contribution almost 40 percent, from $2.5 billion, in fiscal 1996.

I haven't read Kempin's book (nor even an excerpt, given that the Kindle version is available only to Amazon UK customers at this point.) But from the description, it seems, unsurprisingly, that his take of past events is different from what OEMs presented at the trial:

Find out how much resolve, fortitude, and perseverance were needed to make that part of the PC revolution come true; what strategies were employed to win the Internet browser war; how IBM was beaten; what drove Apple to the brink of disaster; and how shady politicians and hapless competitors eventually goaded the Feds to ensnare Microsoft in a web of antitrust accusations.

Whether you're in the pro- or anti-Ballmer camp, it's always worth questioning the motives of anyone recounting an event. (I've learned this from sources over the years.) To those with an ax to grind, everything looks like a grindstone.